Scared of Girls
by Nymbis
Summary: The strays of Inuzuri are more than a little confused by their newest member. Childhood story, hints of Renji x Rukia.


_Scared of Girls_

**Summary: **The strays of Inuzuri are more than a little confused by their newest member. Childhood story, vague hints of Renji x Rukia.

**AN: **Despite my better efforts, there's probably a bit of OoC, sorry about that. I'm not sure whether or not the 'strays' adapted to Rukia right away, or if it was something a little more gradual. I just tried to imagine a group of kids (all boys) having to live with a girl for the first time.

This story is inspired by the multitude of times young Renji blushes in Episode 32 ; ) Happy (late) birthday to Rukia too : D

OoO

Girls are weird.

It was the standard rule that all five to ten year old boys knew, one of the most important ones, in fact. Right up there with 'If it's dangerous, it's probably fun'. The strays, a term the orphaned children of Rukongai's southern 78th district had picked up for themselves, were no different than normal children in this respect. Stealing could be fun, running away from merchants could be _really _fun, and girls are weird.

Weird often equaled scary, and in this case, yet again the boys of Inuzuri were no different than any other boy in the world.

They were all made terribly uneasy by the newest addition to their group, a _girl _in a purple kimono with black hair.

Ever since The Girl had entered their little pack three days ago, the boys had been wary and almost scared to go near her, excepting Renji, who was well…Renji, and even he only talked to her out of necessity, his words often short and abrupt before he stammered away.

Nevertheless, if a girl was weird, that made her interesting, and despite their basic boy-ingrained code, the strays found themselves unbearably curious about The Girl. So curious that recently they had taken to spying on her from afar, seeking Girl in its natural habitat.

Three pairs of eyes peeked around the trunk of a tree, snooping secretly on the purple-clad figure about twenty feet away, who was sitting peacefully in the field and staring at the few sparse wildflowers.

"She's just so _weird,_" Came the voice that belonged to the set of eyes lowest to the ground. The face was tan, and rather plump.

"What is she _doing?_" Rasped the middle pair of eyes, obscured by unruly brown hair.

"She's just sitting there…it's…" The top pair struggled to come up with the right word, but finding none, settled on, "_weird._"

The other two nodded in agreement.

The trio of boys made up three of the four, now five, members of 'the group'. Mitsurugi was the one of the bottom, laying on his rather large stomach. Ryuu, the oldest of the three, crouched low to the ground, his brown hair constantly obstructing his vision. The final boy of the espionage crew, Toki, the youngest, peered over Ryuu's crouched back, his short stature forcing him to practically leap off the ground to get a decent look. Their fourth comrade and undeclared leader was Abarai Renji, and their fifth and newest addition was the person who they were currently scrutinizing.

The Girl.

The Girl who was looking deceptively innocent as she began to weave a few stems of nearby flowers into a chain. It was a ruse no doubt. They wouldn't lower their guard.

"Do you think she has powers or something?" Whispered Toki, looking incredibly uncomfortable at the prospect.

"What makes you say that?" asked Mitsurugi quietly.

"I don't know, but she freaks everybody out," Toki said sagely, "Even Renji! The last time he talked to her, he came back all red and flustered."

"Well, she is a…you know…" Muttered back Ryuu.

"A you know _what_?"

"A girl." Clarified Mitsurugi.

At those two words, a look of complete understanding drew over Toki's face, his features scrunched up in enlightenment, "Oooh." He drawled, still not really getting it.

So distracted were the boys with their spying and observations, they didn't take notice of the not-so-light footfalls that were behind them, followed by a rather loud, "Oi! What are you guys doing?"

The shock of hearing another voice sent the trio falling onto the ground gasping in fear. As soon as the three recognized the owner, they noticeably calmed down, each looking over at The Girl to see if she had heard anything. It appeared that she hadn't.

"Renji, don't be so loud!" Reproached Ryuu, trying to sound angry despite the fact that he was afraid to raise his voice.

After the warning, Ryuu, Mitsurugi, and Toki resumed their 'research', completely ignoring the newcomer.

The red haired kid stared at his friends in confusion, wondering why exactly he had come to see his three buddies sneaking around a tree like they were ninja or something, and even more importantly why he wasn't clued in on it. He leaned close to Toki, and whispered in a suspicious tone, "Ugh, what is it that you are all doing?"

The runt of the litter pointed a small finger across the clearing, "It's The Girl."

Renji followed the direction, and he saw what Toki was pointing at, he did agree that it was, in fact, a girl. The new girl, Rukia, who had helped them steal the water three days ago. It didn't appear that she was doing anything unusual.

"So?"

"So it's _weird,_" Ryuu explained, "Girls are _**weird**._" He put even more stress on the word the second time around, as if doing so would reveal one of life's great mysteries.

"Okay…So why are you spying on her?"

"Toki thinks she has powers or something," Mumbled Mitsurugi, distracted still.

Renji felt his eyes widen slightly as he deadpanned, "Powers."

Toki nodded, "She does! All The Girl has to do is say a few words to you, or even look at you, and you get all red and sputtery- Hey you're doing it now!"

Renji could feel the heat resonating on his cheeks at Toki's insight as he shook his head, "Don't be stupid, Toki." He said shortly, crossing his arms in an indignant manner.

"Renji's right," Said Ryuu.

"Yeah, don't be stupid, Toki," Contributed Mitsurugi, stare still trained ahead. Waiting for the attack.

The youngest one looked a bit miffed, but shrugged it off, "Anyway, she's weird."

"Really weird." Came the oldest of the four.

"Way weird." Agreed the largest of them.

Renji seemed to evaluate the group for a moment, before a single eyebrow rose, "If you ask me…" He trailed off, as three heads swerved around to stare at him, "It seems like you guys are _scared _of her."

The response was so rapid fire that Renji himself was taken aback, "Am not!" They all defended at the same time.

"Then why don't you go…" He trailed off, thinking of some method, "Talk to her or something." He posed bluntly.

"Are you crazy? She has _powers_!" Replied Toki, his hands waving a bit.

"She's _weird,_" Argued Ryuu.

"She's a _girl,_" stated Mitsurugi.

The red head rolled his eyes and exhaled haughtily, "You guys are pathetic, scared of a little girl, real men," When he said the word 'men' his chest puffed slightly, "Talk to girls all the time."

The rebuttal to his statement was quick, and Renji was only able to pick up the repeated mantras of 'powers', 'weird', and of course, 'girl' from his friends' gibberish.

"You're just as scared of The Girl as we are," Toki pouted.

"I'm not scared-" He began, but was cut off.

"Then _you_ talk to her, Renji!" Proclaimed Mitsurugi, giving him a shove on the shoulder with his meaty palm.

"Yeah!" Spouted Ryuu, his posture solid and unmoving.

"Yeah!" Echoed Toki, really just going along with the crowd.

Renji's stare drifted to the purple person in the field, then back towards the other three boys, each gazing at their unsaid leader intently. A tiny tremor of anxiety filled the red head as he shifted his focus back to The Girl.

It was either talk to The Girl, or look like a wuss in front of his friends. He tensed a bit as indecision filled him.

"He's too scared," Muttered Ryuu to Toki, his tone an exaggerated whisper.

"I told you," The kid said, a bit too smugly.

Renji gaped at him, "I'm not afraid!" He said, careful to mind the volume of his voice.

Mitsurugi rolled his eyes, "Then go talk to it!"

His eyes narrowed and now heckled, he rose to the challenge, "Fine I will!" He all but shouted, swerving on his heel and marching over to her.

Effectively worked up, Renji realized he didn't exactly _know _how to talk to a girl. He had seen them before, and had even spoken to Rukia (that was The Girl's name, when she wasn't being referred to as The Girl) a few times in their hideout or on stealing runs. But to just talk to one, as in conversation? Not so much.

He stood behind her back, his shadow blocking out all the light, and it was obvious that she knew he was there. Renji even went as far as to clear his throat, shifting his weight from foot to foot. No response. Awkwardly, he turned around to face the rest of the gang's hiding spot, giving them a confused look. They responded in a perfectly synchronized shrug.

Now, if Renji's normally observant mind hadn't been distracted by the upcoming conversation, he would have realized one of four things. First, that there was hardly any wind that day. On a day with no wind, it is quite easy to hear certain things- say a conversation about girls being weird- from a mere distance of twenty feet away. Especially when said conversation is half yelled.

Two, that below him, while seemingly sitting calmly, there was a slight shake to The Girl's shoulders.

This implies that The Girl had heard every damn thing, particularly the words 'little' and 'it' in reference to her, and The Girl was highly displeased.

Three, Renji should have noticed that The Girl's grip on a daisy chain she had been toying with was seeming abnormally tight for such an activity, and that her fingers had curled up into a fist on her lap.

And of course, four, the most notable of them all. The Girl was letting out a hissing noise between grit teeth, very much akin to the sound that a bull makes before it is about to charge.

But, as stated before, Renji's observatory skills were delayed at the moment, as he attempted to find something to say. Unable to take the silence anymore, Renji clenched his jaw, "Oi-" He said at last.

By the time Renji registered the tiny fist sailing towards his chin, it was too late.

OoO

"Did I just see what I thought I saw?" Whispered Mitsurugi in a mixture of horror and amazement from behind the tree trunk.

"The _girl _just knocked Renji on his ass!" Exclaimed Toki in awe.

"I can't believe it!" Stammered out Ryuu, lifting his curtain of hair from out of his eyes and blinking a few times.

At that moment, the raven-haired girl they were staring at turned and glared at them. The trio felt themselves freeze up in terror when they realized that not only was their hiding spot discovered, but she was heading straight towards them

The boys almost huddled together, petrified, when she strode up, a finger pointed at them and shaking.

"Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once," Her voice was eerily commanding and her violet eyes sparked with intensity as she drew her face close to theirs, having to stand up tip toe to maintain proper eye contact. "My name is _Rukia_, not _Girl_, and if you don't stop acting _weird _around me I'm going to sock you too!"

To emphasize, she rolled up the sleeve of her purple kimono and made another threatening fist. After a few seconds, she released her death glare on them and flattened her feet. Casting them a final bizarre and quite frankly confused look, she walked away, stance straight and proud.

"Boys are _so _strange," She muttered to herself before she was out of earshot.

As soon as Ryuu, Mitsurugi, and Toki were convinced she wasn't going to turn around and deck them like she had Renji, they collapsed in collective relief, each plopping down on the ground.

Seconds later, Renji sauntered up to the group rather dazedly, absently rubbing a spot underneath his chin. Three sets of eyes turned to look at him, waiting to see his reaction.

Renji scrutinized each boy carefully for a few moments, and tension increased in the air. Finally, a tiny grin appeared across the red headed boy's face, "Even if she _is_ a brat, I like her." He finally said, judgment passed.

Ryuu's face lightened up in a smile, "Me too!"

"Rukia-chan's scary!" Chimed in Toki admiringly.

"Rukia can stay forever, since she punches really good," Reasoned Mitsurugi.

Boys are weird.


End file.
